Voting is a right which comes with citizenship. To be eligible to register to vote in California you must:
- be a United States Citizen;
- be 18 years of age on or before the day of the election;
- be a resident of the State of California; and
- not be in prison or on parole for the conviction of a felony.
The state has the responsibility for making voting available to all those properly registered. Some of the ways in which voting must be made available to Californians include:
- Providing audio recordings of the State Ballot pamphlet. (Order online or call 1-800-345-VOTE)
- Allowing employees paid time off to vote
- Accessible polling places
- Curbside voting for those not able to access their polling place
- Assistance filling out voter registration application forms
- Absentee voting
- Early voting
Additional information about the Voter Bill of Rights is available from http://www.easyvoter.org/altruesite/files/evguide/Other/Voter%20Bill%20of%20Rights.pdf
Registering to vote:
You must be registered to vote 15 days before an election in order to vote in that election. Additionally, you must re-register to vote if you move, change your name, or wish to modify your political party affiliation.
To see if you are already registered, contact the Sacramento County Department of Voter Registration and Elections (916) 875-6451.
If you are not registered to vote, you can access the forms and information to register at http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_vr.htm
If you do not wish to visit a polling place, you can cast your vote by Absentee Ballot. You must register for an Absentee Ballot no later than seven days before the election. For more information and the form to register for an Absentee Ballot, see http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_m.htm
Voters who cannot visit a polling place because they are overseas or in the military may also apply for an Absentee Ballot. The registration form is different than that for a standard Absentee Ballot. For more information and the form to register for this special type of Absentee Ballot, see http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_mov.htm
Preparing to vote:
With so many candidates and issues on the ballot, voting can be overwhelming. There are several organizations that try to make it easier for voters to access information about elections and the voting process.
Easy Voter (http://www.easyvoter.org/) provides access to nonpartisan information about the candidates and propositions for California and Federal elections.
In addition to state and Federal elections, Smart Voter (http://www.smartvoter.org/) also provides information about upcoming Sacramento County ballot measures (http://www.smartvoter.org/2007/11/06/ca/sac/.
The California Secretary of State's website (http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections.htm) also provides very useful information about the election process, voter registration, and the upcoming election.
By Mary Pinard, Public Services Librarian
updated 02/08